Dishpan Cookies ~Have you baked for anyone lately?~
I suppose I’ve always had a soft spot when it comes to homemade cookies. As a girl, my mother made fresh homemade cookies twice a week, every week!
She didn’t realize how long cookies would keep so she made small batches and replenished them with fresh every three days or so. Seeing as how money was so tight with a family of five on a police officer’s salary, Mama kept the cookies coming because she didn’t want us to do without treats when we couldn’t afford store bought. If you ask me, folks eating the store bought cookies weren’t getting nearly the treat we were!
I would have a very difficult time telling you what my favorite cookie is. That would be like telling you who my favorite person is! Rest assured, I have plenty of very well loved cookie recipes up my sleeve but on Mama’s advice, I am starting with these.
This recipe makes one of my favorite cookies and also one of hers. A very old fashioned tasting cookie, this reminds me of something I had in our lunchroom at school as a child. The first time I ever had these was about five years ago. I was on a twelve hour bus ride to Dallas, Texas to attend the Red Hat Society’s National Convention. A very kind lady had made a whole passle of these cookies to bring aboard the bus. One bite and I knew I had met my new best friend! A week or so later she was kind enough to mail me the recipe.
Living up to their name, dishpan cookies contain all sorts of goodness and the batter is generally far too massive to fit into a bowl in order to mix. I mixed these up in my favorite red dishpan. Please note that I am making a double batch but the recipe at the bottom is for a single batch. Y’all know how I like to double things! Half the effort, twice the outcome!
These are a GREAT cookie to give away. They travel well, freeze well, stay fresh longer than most cookies just sealed in a jar on the counter, and they also mail well. Even better, if you like crisp cookies, just bake them two minutes or so longer and you’ll have them! If you like chewy, bake them just until done. My family can never decide if we like these crispy or chewy, so I do half of the batch each way!
Now I have a question for ya! When was the last time you baked for anyone? Nowadays with all of the hustle and bustle of our lives mixed with the fact that the closest most people get to homemade is something bought at a grocer’s bakery section, nothing beats the thrill of receiving homemade cookies or other baked goods. It is so easy to buy things for someone, but baking for them lets them know that you put a lot of thought, effort, and love into the gift. Show your appreciation for someone, thank a dear friend just for being them, or give a batch of these as a gift for a special occasion. You’ll be happy you did and they’ll be a whole lot happier!
I like to make these cookies LARGE. I make so many different types of cookies that several years back I decided to make each type of cookie a particular shape or decorate it a specific way. For my grandmother’s tea cakes, I cut them with a frilled circular cutter and sprinkle the tops with pink or red decorating sugars. For these, I measure out 1/4 C sized balls and bake them to be extra large. This cookie is sturdy enough to handle the larger size plus it is a nice little gift when you simply put one cookie in a cellophane gift bag and tie it with curling ribbon, as I did this morning when I attached them to invitations for my daughter’s birthday.
I have a little neighbor, April, who I know is going to be a happy camper when she and her sister come home to find these tied to her front door handle!
Mix again….
Throw hand mixer in trash. That makes the fifth one you’ve burned up, gal! 
Ingredients
- 2 Cups light brown sugar
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 Cups Oil
- 4 eggs
- 4 Cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups quick oats
- 4 Cups cornflakes
Instructions
- In a very large bowl or dishpan, cream sugars, vanilla, oil, and eggs. Add flour, soda, and salt. Fold in oats and cornflakes.
- Drop by ¼ measuring cup onto ungreased cookie sheets. This batter might be a little dry and you may have to moosh it together with your hands to get it into a ball when you put it onto the pan.
- Bake for ten to twelve minutes at 375, or until edges are lightly browned. If you want them to be chewy, bake a little less, crispy, a little more. I always double this recipe and do half chewy, half crunchy. They keep really well and are great for breakfast. *This freezes well both as a dough and as a finished cookie.
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.”
~Mother Teresa
Submitted by Vickie. Thank you Vickie!
P.S. Here is a lovely photo of a cotton field for you! They are in full bloom now and just beautiful. If you’ve never been to Alabama, I highly recommend you come this time of year. Aside from the fact that we wouldn’t wish a Southern Summer on our worst enemy, cotton fields and all of our fall festivals and fairs are an experience not to be missed!
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Oct 10 2008. Filed under Dessert, Holiday Favorites!.
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Christy, I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed this recipe! I am donating cookies for children visiting Santa, for a local fundraiser, and these will be perfect. Since I am making them smaller, not only will it make a ton, but I am able to make them ahead and freeze until needed. I sometimes add various add-ins to vary the cookies and recently made a batch with pecans and cinnamon chips. Oh My!!! Everyone has agreed it raises these to a whole new level! Thanks again for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I have made these twice now and they are coming out cakey. They are still delicious, but I would like a cookie that is crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? Please help!!
I MAKE A COOKIE ALMOST LIKE THESE BUT THEY HAVE BUTTER,OIL,RICE CRISPIES PECANS AND COCONUT IN THEM. CRISPIE ON OUTSIDE AND SOFT ON INSIDE.
These are my very favorite cookies!!! We use the same ingredients as you have listed. Then we had cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, white chips, nuts of any kind, just about anything that you can think of or that you like. This is a wonderful, wonderful cookie to share!
They are my favorite too Jan!!!
We use this recipe in my family around Christmas and add a bag of Heath Bar chips and chocolate chips. So good. I just made them this weekend and I think it was about 12 dozen with a single recipe.
Here I am making these cookies again…this time for the Kairos Prison Ministry.
Prayers are an extra ingredient that I’m adding!
May His grace abound in our lives,
Kay